“Cooking up charges against innocent people in the name of politics is an obsolete and a crude idea of olden days when desperate politicians used to cook up dangerous lies against anyone they want to subdue and the person would be battling with it. Such practice is no longer fashionable”
By John Odunayo
A former National Assembly member, Senator Ayo Arise, who is eyeing a return through the 2027 general elections, has said that his antecedents, performance and experience will work for him in the election.
Arise, who wants to represent Ekiti North Senatorial District again in the Senate, said that his role in the establishment of Federal University Oye Ekiti in the Senatorial District would also contribute to his defeating any aspirant or candidate in the 2027 election.
The former Chairman, Senate Committee on Privatisation, who spoke through a phone conversation on a Fresh FM, Ado Ekiti Radio programme from United States of America, said, “My antecedents, performance and experience while in the Senate between 2007 and 2011 and after office are enough for me to coast home to victory against any politician in Ekiti North Senatorial District including the serving Senator, Cyril Fasuyi.
He lampooned Fasuyi for intolerance to criticism and remand of a citizen, Idowu Afuye, for trump up charges, describing it as unfortunate and uncivilised.
Arise spoke in reaction to the citizen’s remand on alleged charges including cyber stalking, defamation of character and false information following a write up titled: “A tale of two senators: When representation meant responsibility”, where Afuye praised Arise for facilitating the establishment of FUOYE among other achievements while demanding the achievements of the current senator in the district.
Arise said, “Cooking up charges against innocent people in the name of politics is an obsolete and a crude idea of olden days when desperate politicians used to cook up dangerous lies against anyone they want to subdue and the person would be battling with it. Such practice is no longer fashionable. I think we should be progressing and no person should play that kind of politics of setting people up again.
The former federal lawmaker described the development as “an absolute abuse of power, political intolerance, a height of arrogance, immaturity and lack of experience on the path of those responsible for the ugly development.
“It is a misadventure as it portends the backwardness in our political system which will not be acceptable and must be condemned by all lovers of democracy.
“Many Nigerian politicians including Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele; the current Governor of Ekiti State, Mr Biodun Oyebanji; and even President Bola Tinubu had been criticised in the past, but how many people have they arrested?
“There is freedom of speech and movement in the country that is guaranteed by the Constitution and anybody that wants to breach the constitution must be ready to face the consequences. Therefore, I do not think that people will be happy that you have acquired so much arrogance that you think, you can do anything”.
Arise also condemned the actions of some security agents in the state who are now acting like “a bull in a China Shop” to arrest, prosecute and persecute innocent members of the public on trump up charges”.
While clarifying his role in the establishment of FUOYE, the former National Assembly member described the rumours by some paid political urchins that he influenced the relocation of FUOYE from Ikole Ekiti to Oye Ekiti as a cheap political propaganda
He said that the administration of former President, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, only considered two locations of Ifaki and Oye Ekiti ab initio for the siting of the institution in the State.
The bill to establish six federal universities then was an executive one and as Chairman, Senate Committee on Privatisation with oversight duties at the Office of the former Vice President before he (Jonathan) became President gave me access to him. Upon meeting with the then Minister of State of Education in the company of Prof. Okojie and Prof. Yakubu of then TETFUND (now Chairman of INEC), we concluded that the former Teachers College, now Government College, Oye Ekiti should be inspected for take off.
“So, by the time the former Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, was trying to play politics of location, the then President had already made up his mind on the establishment of the university in Oye Ekiti.
“I proposed a Faculty of Agriculture in Ikole Ekiti which I believed could become a full-fledged university in the future.
“When I later met Dr Fayemi to explain the implications of our losing the university to either the Central or Southern senatorial districts if he continued to fight the Federal Government on the issue of location, he agreed to two faculties in Ikole.
“Therefore, my bond with Ikole Ekiti where I married from, remains solid despite mischievous antics by some politicians because, the indigenes now understand better, that all hullabaloo in the past was just a political gymnastics aimed at reducing my political influence in the area. The very reasonable and educated people of Ikole now understand better,” Senator Arise said.